According to the UNHCR, there are currently 68.5 million refugees worldwide. 31 people are newly displaced every minute of the day. This is a crisis we should all be talking about.

In September of 2016, I set out to volunteer at a non profit for refugees in Uganda. At that time, Uganda was home to the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world. People were flooding the Ugandan borders to escape war, famine, violence, and illness in their home countries of Congo, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, and more. I wanted to learn more and document this in real time. I stayed at the refugee community for about 5 weeks so I could immerse myself in the situation and surround myself with refugees who could tell me more about what was going on. Armed with a camera, I was able to capture over a dozen interviews from refugees who needed to share their stories as much as I wanted to hear them. That is how I met Ayen.

In between filming, I volunteered at the non profit called Hope of Children and Women (HOCW). I stayed in the volunteer house in the refugee community that HOCW has built from the ground up. This is a non profit that was built by refugees, for refugees. It truly is an amazing place. Ayen is a refugee from South Sudan. She teaches english to the South Sudanese community at HOCW. She is tall, graceful, and flashes her big white smile often. She's hard to miss. We started chatting everyday. I was drawn to her presence. Her smile was infectious, her laughter was contagious. I had no idea she had such a dark past until I interviewed her. Her story needed to be shared. Her journey needed to be documented. I found out that Ayen hasn't seen her husband, brother, and sister since she fled South Sudan to come to Uganda for safety with her three children, niece, and nephew. Her biggest wish was to go look for her missing family members.

Almost exactly a year later in September of 2017, I returned to Uganda to film Ayen go on the journey of a lifetime. Her boss, Bolingo, offered to take her across the country to search for her missing family in the biggest refugee settlement camp in the world. This, time, I arrived with an incredibly talented Cinematographer- Adrian Belic. Together, the four of us squished into a van and rode 17 hours across the country to Bidi Bidi refugee settlement camp in Northern Uganda. During her search for her family, Ayen connected with many refugees at Bidi Bidi. We learned that she is not alone. Many refugees have lost or missing family members from when they fled their home country. Ayen was not alone in her search for lost loved ones. This is one of the many tragedies that refugees face when they are displaced.

Ayen's courage and strength was palpable throughout this journey. She confronted her past and faced the present. She was a true warrior, a hero in my eyes. The world needs to see her, hear her story, and cheer for her strength. It's easy to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the refugee crisis- it's overwhelming. With Ayen, it became personal. Connecting with one person's story made the bigger picture seem less far away

Ayen's life as a refugee will never be easy. I don't know if she will ever find her missing family. She will always struggle to provide for her three children, niece, and nephew. I don't know if she will ever be able to go home to South Sudan. I don't know where her name is on the UN's long list of refugees seeking placement in other countries. I've shared the story of an incredible human who has lost almost everything due to war and conflict in her home country. So, what's the solution? Where do we go from here? Who can help? I wish I had all the answers. I wish I could personally help all the Ayens in the world. I wish that wars would end so that people could go home and be reunited with their loved ones in their home countries. Who has to sit down at the table and make peace with each other for that to happen?

The best solution I've found is to care. Share the knowledge. Share Ayen's story, and care about someone and something that may feel far from all of us. If we don't talk about it, it will become less relevant. Talk about it. Do what you can, when you can, however you can. For me, this meant volunteering my time at a non profit for refugees in Uganda. For you, it may mean donating money to a solid organization that helps refugees. For someone else, it may mean sponsoring a refugee child through an organization that helps refugees get back on their feet. For someone else, it may mean posting about the refugee crisis on social media. Everyone can do something.

I saw first hand how hard the UNHCR is working to help refugees in Uganda. Their funds are limited, and they are understaffed. I want them to be able to do more, because I believe every refugee deserves clean water, food, a safe place to live, education, etc. The UNHCR is the most informed and trusted organization when it comes to the global refugee crisis. I would highly recommend starting here to learn more and find ways to help.

UNHCR Website

My own personal experience with refugees was in Uganda through the non profit HOCW (Hope of Children and Women). This non profit is a registered 501(c)(3) and was started by a wonderful woman from New York who met a Congolese refugee during her time volunteering in Uganda. Together, these two formed an organization that has helped thousands of refugees in Uganda. For almost a decade, this organization has provided a quality of life for refugees that is unlike anything I've seen. I've gone twice to volunteer and would recommend it to anyone. It is an amazing and unique opportunity that changes both your life and the lives of the people you meet. There are also plenty of ways to help online. This is a safe and trusted place, speaking from first hand experience. Check out HOCW

Hope of Children and Women's Website